Bank employee in court over US$ visa cards scam

Yeukai Karengezeka, Court Correspondent

A BANK employee has found himself in legal trouble after allegedly orchestrating a sophisticated scam involving forged identity documents issued with his photograph above the names of genuine account holders.

As part of his scheme, the man started using  these for fraudulent transfers of funds from old VISA cards issued by Banc ABC to new ones.

Nyasha Dean Chigiyegiye, who works as a business intelligence analyst for the National Banking Society, appeared before Harare Magistrate Mr Isheunesu Matova, facing charges of fraud.

He was remanded on bail of US$300 to March 12 for routine remand.

According to Prosecutor Mr Rufaro Chonzi, Banc ABC had initiated a process in 2022 to phase out its old VISA debit cards, requiring clients to apply for new ones in person with valid identification.

This process included transferring funds from the old cards to the new ones.

However, Chigiyegiye, in collaboration with Takunda Trevor Munyati, a former Banc ABC employee, is accused of exploiting this system and explore the loopholes that were in the institution.

Between September 20, 2023, and October 23, 2023, the two allegedly forged identity documents for 11 account holders, including individuals such as Keith Trevor Mashinya, Leonard Tachiwona, and others.

Chigiyegiye reportedly replaced the original account holders’ photographs with his own on the forged identity cards, sometimes altering birth dates to align with his age, while retaining the genuine account details.

Armed with these fraudulent identity documents, Chigiyegiye is said to have visited various Banc ABC branches, successfully applying for new debit cards under his name.

He then facilitated the transfer of funds from the original clients’ old cards to the fraudulent new ones.

The bank, unaware of the deception, authorised these transfers.

The alleged fraud was finally detected, leading to Chigiyegiye’s arrest.